Docynia indica season in Son La

The forests in Bac Yen district, Son La province are in the ripening season for Docynia indica. The H’Mong people say that previously, docynia indica grew naturally in the forest, but in order to improve its productivity, in the past 10-20 years, people have also planted this tree in their home gardens. This year there is a bumper crop of docynia indica, so local people have started to harvest early in the ninth month of the lunar calendar.

The docynia indica forests in Tro A village, Ta Xua commune, Bac Yen have begun to ripen.
The docynia indica forests in Tro A village, Ta Xua commune, Bac Yen have begun to ripen.

All H’Mong people, from elders to children, from women to men at Ta Xua, Xim Vang, Lang Cheu, and Hang Dong communes are busy day by day collecting the docynia indica. After being sorted by size and packed into bags, traders drive cars to communes and villages to purchase and sell them in many places. Although harvested only seasonally at a fairly cheap wholesale price, the docynia indica has contributed to improving the economic life of the local people.

Bac Yen district is considered the ‘capital’ of docynia indica.

Vang Thi Chu from Ta Xua A village, Ta Xua commune bundles branches of leaves and docynia indica to bring to Hanoi to sell at the fruit fair.

A bag of docynia indica

Traders drive cars to communes and villages to purchase and sell in many places.

In Bac Yen town, docynia indica retaisl at between VND 10,000 and 15,000 per kilogram.